After 24 hours of flying and airports, my Air France flight arrived in Houston, Texas at 2:00 p.m. on Friday January 24, 2014. Unusual for Houston, I breezed through passport control with no waiting and proceeded to baggage claim to pick up my rifle and luggage. I received assistance from a nice young man who was waiting to serve his next customer. Having injured my knee during my expedition, he was a welcome site. While visiting and waiting for the bags I learned that he was accustomed to arriving hunters and knew the drill. We waited in line at customs and were eventually told by an agent at the egress gate to continue into the Customs Department to clear the rifle and luggage. Finding this huge room completely empty, a customs officer walked into the room and literally yelled at me to get off the phone. I obliged and the baggage assistant left to find another officer to help us manage and clear customs. We proceeded to the far clearing station and an officer came to stand opposite me at the counter. I bid him a good day and without greeting me he asked me to unlock the gun case and rolling duffle bag, and unzip my remaining two bags. At this time I informed the officer that there was ammo inside of a hard case inside the locked duffle and he requested that I retrieve it and lay it out on the table. Having traveled through several countries that treated me with the utmost respect and kindness, I said nothing about this officer’s disregard for friendliness and his obvious lack of people skills and tact. I obliged the officer, took everything of out of my bags, and dropped the items on the table. It was at this time that the officer initiated a conversation with me by asking from where I had flown in and I replied Africa; more specifically Cameroon. It was then that the officer stated, “and what poor defenseless animal did you shoot?” Taken back by his statement I tactfully replied that my main objective was to shoot a Lord Derby Eland. After he questioned me about the animal several times I felt like I was being baited so I repeated it for a 3rd time. At this point he ruffled through my bag containing curios that I had packed inside my carry on luggage to avoid breakage. This not being my first experience with customs, I had gotten the curios stamped and obtained an itemized listing from the airport customs in Yaoundé declaring the items as a legal export from Cameroon. He ignored the form that I handed him, and took one of the wooden curio items to another officer further down the counter. After examination of the item the other officer handed it back and the original officer brought it back to where I was standing, tossed it on the tabled pile, and turned and walked away. Several minutes went by as I stood at the counter with no communication from any custom personnel. I called out to the officer asking if I could put my belongings back in their bags. At this time he stated “I don’t care what you do” as he blustered his way back to me and continued to verbally attack me with his unjustified pronouncement: “the next time you want to go shoot some poor defenseless animal you should go to Afghanistan and hunt something that can shoot back.” Taken aback, the only response I could muster at the time was, “you have got to be kidding.” He replied that he was in fact not kidding and announced that he thought it a “splendid idea.” At this point my porter suggested that I not lose my temper and I reassured him that this would not be a problem. I stated to the officer that I couldn’t believe the statement that a professional customs agent just made and he announced, “I am in the military and I mean what I say.” Having a flight to catch, I loaded my belongings onto the cart and headed toward the door with the porter following behind me. When we reached the exit I asked the porter to wait for a moment so that I could find a supervisor. I told the officer behind the desk at the exit who I was and what had just happened back at the counter and he asked if I could point out the offending officer. We walked back to the counter where I pointed out the officer and he was asked to come to where we were and confirm what I was reporting. He stated that what I had reported was correct and stated that he was “not a hunter.” I stated that being a professional U.S. Customs Agent, I believed his statements to be unnecessary and completely out of line. He repeated that he was “in the military and meant what he said.” The other officer tugged at my arm in a motion to leave and as we walked away he stated that the offending officer was not under his jurisdiction. When I asked who was his direct supervisor he stopped at one of the counters and handed me a comment card and told me that this was my only option.

Finding that my flight out to Amarillo had been canceled and I had an extra 12+ hours on my hands, I decided to find out what I needed to do to file an official complaint against the officer. I asked the porter if he could get me back into customs and he replied that he could but did not advise it. Determined to go back and report the incident, the porter decided to go along. I walked back to the officer at the exit and told him that I wanted to talk to the supervisor in charge. He stated that he felt it a “waste of time” whereupon I stated I had nothing else to do but wait as long as it took for someone in a position of authority to come down and speak with me. I set my luggage down and sat down on my cart to wait. The porter really didn't want to be there but I told him I would tip him well for the trouble and he settled down to wait with me. Twenty minutes later a pleasant lady with a friendlier personality appeared and introduced herself as the person in charge. She listened to the entire story telling me that she was not a hunter either. I told her that I was not there to debate this issue that I had never mentioned hunting except in answering questions, and I felt that the subject need never had been broached having no bearing on the topic at hand.

The officer in question was rude and offensive in his behavior and as it turned out the older officer at the exit was in fact in charge after all. In addition to being offended by official U.S. Custom Agents who I feel are in place to serve my country and me I have been lied to by the offending officer’s actual supervisor. The woman assured me that she would take care of the matter and get back to me. As of today, I have had no contact from anyone in the U.S. Customs Department. I have no assurance that these unprofessional service agents have been addressed at all and find myself questioning being told that this matter would be “dealt with.”
I have decided to file an official complaint with the U.S. Customs in Washington D.C. and see where it goes from here.

Having recently visited three continents in the past 2 months I have come to the conclusion that I was treated better outside of the United Stated of America than in my own homeland. I feel as if I was treated as a criminal simply for being someone who hunts. In fact, I feel as if I was treated like a pariah in my country of birth where I work hard and am a law abiding tax-paying citizen.

All to often, and I am as guilty as anyone, we rush through our lives trying to get by with the least amount of hassles and overlook too many things that should be dealt with straightaway. Had my flight not been canceled I would have walked away, got on my plane, and gladly gone home to my wife knowing all the while that I have the right to file a complaint about being mistreated by someone who obviously has taken some air of his authority to his head. In our society today bullying has gained a lot of attention and while I am a grown man, I am now a victim of a “school-yard” bully who is supposed to be an agent of the United States protecting our border from true criminals. Is it the badge, the gun, or the attitude? I still wonder.

Joec

Joec

Sorry to hear about your shabby treatment on return thru US Customs with those agents attitudes. Hope that your hunt went well and that the experience was what you were looking for whether animals were brought to bag or not.

Wish you luck in filing a succefull complaint and a positive resolution with the main Customs office, although I doubt you'll get a better result from that than what you experienced at the airport itself.

As to the suggestion of writing Congress personnel looking for info/help/resolution, its been my experience when ever I've written Congressional senators or representatives from my own state of Washington, well that's a joke from the start. If and when I have ever eventuality gotten a response, that response seldom deals directly with the basic issue, just a bunch of mealy mouth generic feel good, make a bunch of excuses words on paper by some overpaid staffer to such Congress person, with their signature on the page bottom. The letters back from them in my cases (yes I've tried more than once on different topics of concern to me) didn't do a damn thing to help with the issues I was addressing and so I hardly bother with" writing my Congressman/woman" anymore, its a expenditure of my time, time I can never get back.

You have better control over your reaction than I would have!

In Dar a couple of years ago the security man at the boarding gate was having a go at every passenger!

He was opening every carry on bag, and screaming something or other at every one!

My turn came:

"Open your bag!"
I did
"Why do you have such a big bag?"
I answered "It is none of your business how big my bag! What is your problem."

He was totally speechless! Left me and went to the next passenger.

I closed my bag and left!

Coming back home to Dubai once, after having been traveling for two days.

Unshaven, with a large over coat over my shoulders - it was very hot in Dubai.

I was singled out by the customs man as I walked through the green Chanel.

"Would you come this way please sir and open your bag"

I said "Officer, I have been traveling through several airports, in several countries, and I was never stopped. Now I am at my home airport and you stop me"

"Oh, I am very sorry sir, please continue"

And I walked out.

I have traveled to and stayed in 4 continents in the last 6 months. Nobody has treated me this way, not even close. Had an interesting meeting with Immigration in Dubai, but that was the closest anyone came to being rude to me.

Unfortunately, there is no accountability with US Government officials. They can not be fired under circumstances that would call for an immediate dismissal of a private sector employee.

From your story, you seem to have handled yourself well. My patience wears thin after 18 hours of travel. When I hit 40 hours, I have to really watch myself as I can get damn grumpy.

quote:

Originally posted by Thomas "Ty" Beaham:
I would suggest you write and or call your Senator and Representatives.

Exactly. I would have gotten the officer's name, badge number or both, the supervisor's name, badge number or both and then contacted my Senators and/or Representative. My guess is that your Rep from Amarillo would be a gun/hunter friendly sort of fellow and it being an election year you might have a slightly better chance of getting their attention.

There is an opportunity here for us as hunters to push back. I believe that several letters complaining about this incident directed to both the local office AND to the Customs Inspector General in DC would have significant impact.

joec, I am more than happy to write a letter in support of you. My letter would indicate that your experience has come to my attention and I resent the treatment a fellow American citizen was subjected to.

The Customs "service" survives fundamentally on its own bureaucracy. Letters of complaint, especially to the inspector general, will generate a control number and require some type of action. If nothing else, it will send a clear message to the local office and, hopefully, change the behavior of some employees going forward.

joec, I'd suggest you post all the details of your experience as to names, dates, time, the flight # you were on, etc. Then I suggest any AR members who wish to do so craft a letter of complaint to both the IG in DC and the senior staffer at the point of entry. Send one off to joec's congressman and senator as well.

What the hell. Might be fun. We can all gather back here and compare notes on whatever response we recieved.

Strange thing about the US customs and Security - I have travelled in many countries with hunting rifles, but my worst experience ever was arriving in Seattle and departing from Fairbanks two weeks later in 2005. I have never been asked so many questions and told to step back so many times that I started to wonder what they saw in me. A bloody terrorist ? With all papers in order from all US Departments, hunting contracts and permits, export papers from Norwegian Custom etc etc necessary to carry a hunting rifle from Norway to Alaska ?

Well, the officer in Seattle realized at the end of the show that his behaviour was out of line and he in fact asked whether I wanted to make a complain and he gave me a form to fill out and I could send it when I was back home or right away to his senior officer. I did not do it - I just wanted to get going ! In Fairbanks the security officers were completely stupid and I in fact told them that ! Maybe the problem was that I was travelling through Seattle on my way back to Norway. I do not know, but I was very much surprised about their lack of professional behaviour. I thought these guys handled hundreds of internatioal hunters in a few months every year !?

Amen !

Wow. I don't think I could have stood for it. Hats off for your patience.

For what it worth... I know a couple of Customs officials and they are about the speed of Walmart security guards.

My wife and I spent 3 weeks in China back in 2007. Arriving and leaving China were a breeze- clean cut, friendly customs people who spoke excellent English and greeted you with a smile. When we flew back to ORD, we stopped in LAX and had to go through customs/ TSA. There was a horrendous line because the low lives were all chatting with each other and not processing travelers. The agents were all named Chamiqua, Dwandelle, Pablo or Juanita. Neither my wife nor I could understand a word they said!! So if you travel 10,000 miles to China, you get better English speakers and service than back home in Los Angeles. Just plain sad.

You didn't deserve that treatment. If they had caught me on a bad day, there is no telling what I would have done. I have always been treated very nicely by the guys coming home. Hope it stays that way, I don't want to go to jail.

Totally unprofessional behavior from someone who claims to be a customs professional. You should not have been treated with such a lack of respect and I agree that you should pursue the matter with the appropriate government officials. If we can help as fellow hunters please let us know and keep us posted on your progress.

Good luck

Paul

Worst treatment I've ever received was from a customs officer at the Laredo, Texas bridge coming back into the US from a deer hunt. It was ugly and the only reason they didn't throw me under the jail is because all the other officers present knew their man was wrong.
At some point we are going to have to unite and stop this BS!

joec:

I hope you got the sob canned and I suspect I know which agent it was. Young guy, dark hair?

Coming back from Tanzania in 2012, I was waiting in line and my cell phone rang. I answered it to tell my driver I could not talk I was in Customs. This Customs officer unloaded on me for using a cell phone. I tried to explain I simply ANSWERED the phone because I needed to explain the delay to my driver so they didn't leave (since Customs was not doing their job on a timely basis -- I actually didn't say that the first time).

I thought it was going to come to blows when another, older Customs agent intervened and said he would handle me. There were no further problems.

That's got to be the same guy.

I wonder why he felt the need to keep reiterating that he was "in the military"?

His behavior completely nullifies his service, IMO, if in fact he served at all.

quote:

Originally posted by ninersfan:
I wonder why he felt the need to keep reiterating that he was "in the military"?

His behavior completely nullifies his service, IMO, if in fact he served at all.

I bet he never saw military service!

We have had some real idiots here on AR who claimed they were from the military.

They were lying!

quote:

Finding this huge room completely empty, a customs officer walked into the room and literally yelled at me to get off the phone .

joec,

While the customs agent was way out of line with his anti hunting schtick. You marked yourself as a trouble maker. They have these HUGE signs when you enter customs that say CELL PHONE USE PROHIBITED. These guys get real sick and tired of people who can't or won't follow the rules.

I am not in any way supporting the agents idiocy but your phone use I'm sure was the catalyst for his tirade.

Also if you haven't broken any laws you are under no obligation to meekly take that kind crap from a law enforcement agent. You are under no obligation to engage in a conversation with the agent or to answer his questions. You are after all an American citizen and are governed by the rights guaranteed you by the US Constitution.

Surestrike:

When the porter and I walked into customs there was no one repeat not one person in the entire room. The porter left me standing at the entrance while he went to try and find someone to check us through. The one who yelled at me to turn off my phone came out of the office, yelled at me, then left the room via the exit. As the lady boss was later explaining to me how my treatment by them would not be tolerated, the same dark headed officer plus two more surrounded the porter and started giving him grief. This kid was black, about 6ft 1in and weighed probably 230 pounds. They had him crying like a baby. I told the boss to turn around a look how out of control her whole dept. was. They were threatening this kid with his job just for bringing me back into customs. Talk about covering for each other. Two of the three guys hassling him I had not seen while clearing customs. The boss said she would handle it.

NIners Fan:

It was really weird about the I am in the military and I am not a hunter thing. Both times, with his supervisor standing there, I told him I don't care what or who you are it has nothing to do with this situation. The only thing the supervisor said was that he didn't like my attitude. I told the supervisor that I was not there for him to like or dislike my attitude. I just wanted something done. He, BTW being the one who said he was not in charge.

Lavaca:
Could be the same guy. That certainly describes him to a tee. He didn't seem to be very tall either but I think they have a raised area inside the counter. I will do my best to see that something is done but I fear like others have said it may be a waste of time.

joe c

quote:

When the porter and I walked into customs there was no one repeat not one person in the entire room.

Joe,

What does that have to do with the rule against using a cell phone in a customs area?

Once again pointing out that the treatment you got was wrong. And that you exacerbated the problem by breaking the rules.

How do you get back into customs anyways. I thought once you're out you can't get back into the secure customs area.

surestrike:

It has absolutely nothing to do with it or everything. Now you, knowing nothing of the situation, have labeled me a trouble maker, and unable to follow rules. Or maybe they gave the porter grief for having a tattoo on his neck? Is that not profiling? Is that what we pay our government employees to do? Is it ok to yell at someone for being on a phone? I call BS on this whole thing. There are right ways and wrong ways to deal with people and I do not think this was the correct way. Say what you may but that firearm on his hip gives him a hell of a lot of leeway especially not knowing whether or not the guy is mentally stable.

Joe

txlonghorn:

The baggage guy had a card around his neck that opened the door. I thought the same thing but he said he could do it and he did.

Joe

Go for it Joe. Get as many people as you can to write in and complain. Don't rest until you have turned over every stone to get this dickhead fired, demoted, transferred or whatever. It sounds like he's been a perennial problem, as others recognize him as well. And, any of the others that expressed their blatant anti-hunting views should also be complained about. Their job was to check your firearms, and to act respectful and professional, nothing more and nothing less.

I would definitely file a congressional complaint. They have to respond to that. I ran into similar customs/immigration personnel a couple of times that wanted to make me suffer for their personal views of the world. I immediately informed the person that I do not have any interest in his opinions or personal beliefs and if that is going to affect his ability to conduct his job in a professional manner, please get the supervisor immediately because I will not tolerate it. Always get the names so you can file a complaint if necessary.

As to the "I was in the military BS", I have run into that as well. Anyone who claims that as an excuse for being an ass clown was probably not in or got booted out or spent his entire time serving in the mess kit cleaning battalion. Normally the person wants to claim "Spec Ops/Green Beret/Ranger/SEAL/Commando/etc. I politely inform the person that I am retired military and thank him for his service. It normally stops there. If not, let the games begin. I have enjoyed telling more than one person "you are a liar Sir".

When someone plays that card, pursue it. Throw him off of his game. Thank him for his service and ask, really? What unit? How long? What rank? What did you do? What was your MOS (military occupational specialty)? Play 100 questions and let him know you have a friend/son/brother/etc. that probably knows him and you are going to call shortly and ask if he knows him. Most of the time that is more than enough to make the guy back off and move on to the next person he can BS and bully.

I always go out of my way to be a Southern Gentleman and an ambassador of the US, the military and hunters worldwide. That does not mean I have to tolerate stupidity or rude, unprofessional behavior.

I'm very sorry for the poor treatment you suffered.



My last 3 returns from Cameroon, and Tanzania through Seattle have been substantially similar. I've missed 3 connections and have been held up with very similar treatment. Even was held while a "wood" expert was called to examine my Massai Spear. It's all part of modern America. The Taliban has impacted my pursuit of life liberty and happiness far less than my federal government. Sad but true.

Coming back from a fishing trip from Canada the customs officer was a total jerkoff. Six of us sat there for at least a half an hour while he fired question after question at us. How many ways and times can you tell someone where you were, where you're going and what type of fish you caught? He even asked us what we did for a living, which I thought was odd. Nothing but a power trip, and our tax money pays their salary.

Complaint filed with the Head office. I cannot find any way to file with the local Houston office. I now have my own personal reference number with a promise to review and respond so we'll see. Go to their web site and hit complaints. This entire article went in their box.

On a much happier subject I will try and post a report about the hunt in Cameroon as soon as I can.

Thanks everyone for your support. I will post their response when I get it.

Joe

Joe,

I didn't label you a trouble maker who can't follow rules YOU did so when you admitted to BREAKING the LAW by using a cell phone in a customs clearing area. IT IS ILLEGAL to use your cell phone there. And if you do use your cell phone in that area you should expect to get yelled at at the very least.

I agree with you on the behavior of the customs agent but man o man take a little responsibility for yourself. You broke the law and you got called out on it.

Take a look..

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum...-banned-customs.html

quote:

Originally posted by joec:
txlonghorn:

The baggage guy had a card around his neck that opened the door. I thought the same thing but he said he could do it and he did.

Joe

Joe:
Wow you mean that young man got you back into a secure area WITHOUT going through a security check? Just by swiping his card? That seem to me a more serious violation than talking on your cellphone, that young man is lucky to still have his job and whatever clearance he has/had, I wouldn't be surprised if TSA did give the young man trouble after that episode. They have closed down terminals for such a breach.

txlonghorn:

He did go inside by himself first so I would guess that he had permission or they would have had both our butts before we went back inside. To be honest I wasn't really thinking about legality at that point and nothing was ever said to me about coming back into a secure area from the ticketing counters. No one in customs spoke to me again until the woman in charge showed up and I would bet that the whole thing is on video from start to finish. I certainly haven't heard anything from Customs about anything.

Joe

Perfect example of why the LE community is often referred to as pigs.

If the shoe fits,...

In years gone by, when one meets a man in a position of authority, he is most likely is going to meet someone who knew what he was doing.

Since the establishment of Homeland Security, only bottom feeders are employed by them.

Right to the top.

No one is allowed to question their authority.

I lived in the US in the early 80's in Texas.

And not in my wildest dreams I would have imagined the country would get into this sort of Gestapo state.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
In years gone by, when one meets a man in a position of authority, he is most likely is going to meet someone who knew what he was doing.

Since the establishment of Homeland Security, only bottom feeders are employed by them.

Right to the top.

No one is allowed to question their authority.

I lived in the US in the early 80's in Texas.

And not in my wildest dreams I would have imagined the country would get into this sort of Gestapo state.

Thank you Saeed

there are many of us who feel the same way.

SSR

UPDATE FROM CUSTOMS COMPLAINT:


Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.

If this issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may reopen it within the next 7 days.

Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.


Subject
After 24 hours of flying and airports, my Air France flight arrived in Houston, ...

Discussion Thread
Response Via Email (Complaints Officer Richardson) 02/28/2014 02:49 PM
Thank you for contacting the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) INFO Center. Please allow me to express regret for the inappropriate comments to you buy the officer admitting you. Each traveler is entitled to the utmost courtesy and professionalism that can be offered within the limits of our enforcement responsibilities. However, CBP expects all its officers to conduct their duties in a professional manner and to treat each traveler with dignity and respect.

CBP takes allegations of employee misconduct very seriously and has instituted policies pertaining to abuses of authority. Complaints of unprofessional conduct are recorded, investigated, and appropriate action is taken against CBP officers who are found to have violated policy. However, the Privacy Act prohibits any disclosure of discipline towards CBP personnel. Your complaint has been forwarded to the attention of the Port Director’s office at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

In this situation you did or attempted to speak with a supervisor. In the future, if you don’t believe the supervisor addressed your concerns, get his or her name (it should be on his or her uniform) and then we can file a specific complaint against that officer and supervisor. Again, we regret any unpleasantness that you may have experienced. We hope that your future encounters with CBP will be of a more pleasant nature. We appreciate your interest in Customs and Border Protection.

Thank you again for contacting the CBP INFO Center.

Sincerely,

CBP INFO Center

If you have any other questions or would like clarification on this response, please feel free to contact us either by calling our toll free number 877 CBP-5511 (227-5511) or if calling from outside the United States our toll number 202-325-8000 and speak with a Public Information Officer. Our hours of operation are Monday thru Friday from 9:00 AM-12:00 PM and from 1:00 PM-4:00 PM Eastern Time.

Please note that in our online tracking software, a “Solved” status simply means that we have provided you with the best information we have to your question. There may still be steps you need to complete before your situation is resolved to your satisfaction. Those steps are explained in our response. If you need further clarification on those steps, please feel free to contact us back.
Customer By Web Form (Jor Cunningham)

I agree with Saeed and others
Majority of law enforcement agencies act like Gestapo
It's downright scary
Growing up in Communism, it's crazy how close to that they are acting
Power is a scary thing
NUTS...

I had less problems than you flying into China with guns some years ago.

Not that it justifies the treatment, but Surestrike is right: the "Cell Phone Use Prohibited" signs are everywhere in Customs. Why, I don't know. But they are.

quote:

Originally posted by craigster:
Perfect example of why the LE community is often referred to as pigs.

If the shoe fits,...

craigster, thought of many ways on how to reply to your comment but your not worth it.

A cell phone rule was broken, not the end of the world. I actually had a conversation with a fellow while I was having breakfast this morning about a fellow officer that was rude and all I could say or do was apologize for the way he acted, supposedly. Most LE are great people, just like anyone else. It's funny we get black eyes for everyone else's actions. I meet people everyday on their worst day ever and then there are days that make it all worth while.

I was a police officer for 10 years and now, as an attorney, a large part of my practice involves suing government/government officials on behalf of law enforcement or other individuals. I enjoy my work. That being said I have only had one minor altercation while traveling and I just looked at the individual and asked him if I had done or said something to offend him. That put an end to his mouthing.

In Detroit I found Customs very helpful as well as in New York. There is always the bad apple and I suggest that a complaint filed with your Senator/Congressman be followed through and an answer demanded. Being importune garners results.

Dutch

Please pm me this Customs agent's name and description.
I'll be coming through Bush in October with salted/dried and boiled (cleaned) trophies from multiple countries from Europe in my checked baggage.

Of course I'll have all the appropriate paperwork but the less dickheads I have to deal with, the better.

And to think I chose Houston to clear customs in because I figured it'd be the friendliest because it's Texas!

I recently re-entered the U.S. at MSP, and although I had been on a hunting trip I was traveling with no guns or other hunting equipment. Please be assured that discourtesy to travelers by the Customs employees is not unique to hunters.

If you'll stop and think about it, you'll understand why: They are understaffed and underpaid. They are treated in a bureaucratic fashion and with disrespect by their chain of command, and are generally powerless to address waste and inefficiencies. Contempt breeds contempt.

Their most immediate problem is budget sequestration. The dumbest way to address government waste is to cut everything the same amount, regardless of whether it serves a useful or marginal purpose and regardless of whether it was over-funded or underfunded in the first place.

Why did I have a forty-five minute wait in line simply to show someone my passport? Because only two of the six passport stations were open. No budget to open the others. Did anyone think about the waste in capital and infrastructure to build six stations and only operate two of them? Not to mention the time (which is, after all, money) lost by travelers.

Why did the passport agent treat me so brusquely when I finally made it to the station? Because the last fifty people she saw had long-since lost their patience and were brusque with her.

Why didn't the supervisor fire the crotchety old lady who was standing underneath the sign directing travelers one way, contradicting the sign and directing them another way? Because if the supervisor loses that FTE (full time equivalent) they won't be allowed to replace them under the sequestration rules.

You get what you pay for. We're shortchanging ourselves, not to mention foreign travelers who bring large amounts of Dollars back to the U.S. with them.

It is long-since time to modernize our Customs service. Joe Biden recently observed that New York's La Guardia airport reminds him of a third world country. He's right. It's time for the U.S. to bring its travel facilities and services back into the first world. If I had been treated the same way in either of the two foreign countries I transited on my trip as I was in Minneapolis, I wouldn't want to go back there. How do you think the treatment they receive this makes foreign visitors feel about the U.S.?

Joe you should have videoed with the smart phone for evidence against agent.

Mike